Insomnia after Running

horseryder77

Hey all-
So this recently happened to me, and I was wondering if any of you can relate-
Last night, I went on my long run (using the Hal Higdon training plan for a half marathon) of 6 miles. Actually, it ended up being 6.5 miles because I didn't realize I forgot to turn my GPS back on after a cross walk. None the less- I got back home, drank a few glasses of water, did some good stretching, iced my knees, ate some egg whites, and took a hot shower. Then I laid in bed for a while, just playin on the computer and talking to friends.. and I got sleepy around 10:30. (went for my run around 7).
And.. here I am at 5:30 am. I have to be at work in an hour. And I haven't slept. At all. Not even a few minutes. I was sleepy, my heart rate was down.. I was relaxed, but I couldn't get to sleep. This is detrimental to my day considering I have a LOT of things to do that require me to be sharp both physically and mentally. I plan on taking a 3 hour nap between work "shifts" today.

Now, I googled this first before I posted here. I also searched the forums to see if anyone else had ever posted a similar topic. Some people said that insomnia is a symptom of overtraining. Others said it's good to run at night, others said it's not.
At the moment, I'm a college student who has morning classes. So as it is, I get up at 6:30 am every day to either go to class, or go to work (I feed horses in the morning and they need to be fed at 6:30 am). And at the moment, by the time I'm finished with class/work, it's already blazing hot.
I've been doing my long runs at night because I have a friend who bikes next to me and keeps me company.

And it's odd-last week I did 5 miles.. got back even LATER, showered, and passed OUT within 20 minutes of hitting my pillow. And that 5 miles felt brutal. Last night, the 6.5 felt great! So the over training idea doesn't sleep plausible. I've been working my way into the distance.. and I run SLOW. Like, i'm doing an average of 12:00 miles now. but I don't care, I'm worrying about distance for the long runs. I do about 9-10 minute for my short 2-3 mile runs.

So, I'm wondering what your opinions are. This upcoming week for my long run I'm going to try and do it much earlier because I don't have to work on the day of that run. But it doesn't always work out that way. When I'm running for 4 miles or less, this never happens. Running normally helps me sleep.. not keeps me awake.

rybo

I hate running later in the evening becuase I can't fall asleep early. Not to the extreme that you experienced there, but it takes me a while to wind down before I fall asleep.

It could have just been an odd occurance since the last time you fell right asleep?

horseryder77

I'd try it a few more times and if it happens consistently, you should modify you schedule for sure!
I am not gonna try to quote all the science of it bc I will jumble it, but I do that there is something going on with increased blood flow to the brain coupled with adrenaline that stimulates the mind following work outs. I run right after work so I am usually ok. But I play basketball once a week, from like 730-9, running full court- I can't fall asleep afterwards, well, not without a few beers. So I am with you.

Yeah! the sympathatic nervous system in your brain is activated when you run-the "fight or flight" part which stimulates you.
I'm probably going to have to modify my schedule.. but it's just weird that it happened this way this week, and another way another week. Because I'm prone to insomnia as it is. Running is one of the things that normally "cures" it. Wonder if there's something I can eat before/after to make me less.. awake. Eating that late isn't a very good idea either- but I HAVE to eat something after I run or I get dizzy pretty fast. And my stomach starts to hurt

fteale

I don't like exercising in the evening for this reason. It gets your adrenaline going which prevents sleep.

Bentrain

been there and could not sleep either!!!!